Interholiday Round-up

Many Tardis products which rely on rezzer positioning are broken in Second Life. 

Apparently they work by virtue of a fault in LL sim technology.  A parameter which was necessary for a myriad of extended functions but which shouldn't be possible. A blessing in the guise of a bug. 

The gridwide upgrade this month caught and fixed it, slamming and damning folks such as Novatech, makers of Horizons systems.  Several TARDIS brands including, Bad Wolf Corp, New London Systems, Hands of Omega, and Cheshyr's own Novatech were hampered by this fix. 

Basically anyone rezzing an affected product will be subject to the land properties set at 0,0 on that sim.  If you're subject to a no rez restriction, there will be complications.  For some a portion of the build does not rez.  For me, depending on the build, the main portion rezzes in position and other linked parts rez offset or way out of position, with the false alert in chat that I've rezzed too close to a property border.   I spoke with the owner in the southeast corner of Hydrangea.  The land there is a rental and it wouldn't be fair to them or their renter to change the settings.

Not everyone will notice it of course. Sim owners, protected land and so on shouldn't get in the way of precision rezzing.

According to the JIRA for this break, there is a new LSL parameter which will be added in a scheduled deployment in January. Novatech and those who utilize the Horizons system for their products will apply in upgrades.  

I can't imagine Horizons being unique.  Rez Foo and Rez Faux users may want to check for updates when the time comes.  Meanwhile, my elaborate Smith grade control room won't be happening.  I look forward to its return. It's still my favorite.

https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-7265

Mesh. 

I can't make fun of Mesh anymore.  If anything I'm fair, and with Phoenix' latest update, most of the grid now has a choice over whether to use a V1 or V3 type interface and see full content.  Imprudence still holds back lag the best (even Emerald - Phoenix' predecessor - was a memory hog for Windows users), therefore I continue to use that.  I hope whatever they need to clear to move forward with multiple attachments and mesh rendering gets resolved sooner than later.  In the meantime I'll hold my tongue about your invisible torso and that woodgrain donut on your arm.  IMHO viewable or not, if you have to let some clothier redefine your body to such a degree, you're neither you and those aren't just clothes anymore. Note if your face is covered by a rogue prim, it's likely that I won't acknowledge you. It's just rude to appear that way; at least my friends know how I'm viewing them and haven't obscured their faces.


New Toulouse had a dusting last weekend.  It reminded me of how New Orleans often experienced frozen ponds and puddles in winter, spending time before 1st grade chopping at the white spots in the ice with our heels until the bell rang.  One year though we had a serioso blizzard (before I started going to school) which allowed me to experience snow for the first time.  Dad was stuck home and we made a snowman in the parking lot.  Before that I had no idea snow was cold or wet.  It all looked like soap flakes on TV.  Probably were...

Unfortunately the beauty I've enjoyed - although not enough - is coming to an end on Skybeam.  The snows will thaw to an early spring following New Year's.  Not quite the Imbolc I looked forward to with the coldest month not yet upon us, but it's not my estate.  I'll change the tree from snowy branches to bare at that time - too soon for blooms before Ostara.  After going to college in SoCal I resolved never to live where the seasons were not defined.  It was just too disconcerting.

On the plus side, I'll be DJing at Bacchus on the Beach on New Year's Eve, then going to The Stardust Diner to host the East Coast Countdown as usual.  DJ GoSpeed Racer will be playing the tunes.  I haven't had a party in some time, so it will be nice to have one again.  This has been a perrenial since 2003 in Cybertown.

An Open Letter to Steven Moffat

Dear Steven Moffat,

Thanks to you, I'm watching Doctor Who. I watched Eleventh Hour and my mouth was ajar the whole time. Here was just a television show which was easily worthy of a cinematic release. Some 32 years since I first heard of Doctor Who, I was finally brought into the fold.  This means that Matt Smith is my Doctor. As with many of my contemporaries, I started collecting DVDs for Series 1-4 to bring myself up to date. It made your taking over as head writer seem all the more a blessing.

However I have to say that the executive producing thing has taken its toll on your storytelling.  We'll never see another The Doctor Dances or Blink (personally I felt The Girl in the Fireplace was what you'd call rubbish, so I don't count that among your gems).  There's something inspired about those great stories, a go-for-it spirit, an surge of energy behind what made them possible.  Even series 5 was one big inspired story arc, the likes I hadn't seen since Back to the Future trilogy or Buster Keaton's The Cameraman.  I don't know if it's having to divide cleverness and plot between Doctor Who and Sherlock, but as marvelous as individual stories have been throughout series 6, the big one with River Song which you orchestrated was forced and contrived.  An organized religious order after The Doctor?  Yeah right.  Sex between humans in the TARDIS imbue offspring with TimeLord DNA?  900+ years you'd think by now he'd have switched gears and lured people in for centuries just to rebuild his race.  It's a bit crazy that he didn't know, unless it was made clear that the TARDIS intentionally caused Melody's enhancement, which hasn't been implied in any way. And still there's the question of how The Silence knew in the first place that Amy was carrying a part Timelord fetus? How did they know conception in the TARDIS would cause this if The Doctor himself didn't?

Can't say divvying up mental resources hasn't told on Sherlock.  After a great start, Pretty in Pink had a copout ending.  Suddenly Sherlock stopped what he was doing like someone holding up a shiney before a crow.  No one who doesn't care what people think about them would stop to play ego footsie without bluffing, and he wasn't bluffing.  That's too gullible for a walking analytical machine.  It was a kink in the chain for the series IMHO.

Anyway, wrap it up.  Cut the crap.  No contrived endings. Bring back Wilf before Bernard Cribbins can no longer do the role.  Let his best friend back in 2009 know he's okay.  Forget a multi-Doctor reunion and stick The Doctor in that parallel universe to contend with a deadly and corrupt and overzealous Torchwood and half-human David Tennant, Pete, and Rose (there you have it: a sort of not quite tenth Doctor that won't slam The Doctor's own timeline). 

Of course you won't be doing these, even if they serve as closure to the fans and that we see this as one all-encompassing show and deserving of some crossable barriers.

Oh and please PLEASE ask BBCAmerica to stop the hell altering the opening sequence.  It's bad enough they take 25% off specials and two parter episodes that they have to further insult our intelligence with namby pamby content.

Thanks and here's to some real juicy storytelling for series 7 and 8! Make it worth the wait for a double series for the 50th. Hopefully - if the planet still exists in 2014 - we're back to starting on Easter.

Fishstock on Borrowed Time

The 7Seas Fall Fishing Festival was idyllic.  Just a bunch of people with a common pasttime sharing laughs and creativity.  People in boats, hanging from fishing lines, perched on amazing builds... No politics,  no ego beyond pride in a job well done.  Looks like most everyone wanted most everyone's custom catches too :).

For me the added perspective of having "worked" while meeting some of the more hardcore fishers and now marathon fishing with them along with friends and long lost acquaintances.

Spent the first couple of days at 7Seas' build - a giant pile of books and art supplies - catching their myriad of exclusive stuff and scoring free bait.

 Then making Hall of Fame. At the beach Dat and I would rib eachother that one would get there ahead of the other.  We decided to time it so we both made it at the same time.  Our announcements came within about a minute of eachother in a highly populated area. *heh*

As always the creativity of people is a neverending source of amusement, with people happily collecting from several creators at once while others collected theirs in another part of the three sims.  It was neat seeing people collecting Daleks and wearing Angry Turkey shirts, mismatched pajamas, etc.

 full house on friday for a series of mini-contests

We had one more official day on Monday, then borrowed time.  These festivals last basically until Linden Labs reclaims its rental sims.  In past years this meant a few days.  Last year's Fishiversary lasted to Wednesday.  They've gotten more efficient though.  Today logging in at lunch my place was returned. Some places were still there, others partially returned, still others gone.  Fishers were riding boats looking for survivors in the waters, others huddled on Celeste's remaining pillars waiting for the inevitable.  A free boat I was riding on to survey the area derezzed as I rode it.  It was like the universe was being sucked into an unseen black hole.

salvage manifested into funny fishing vehicles

But no harm done. We're all in group chat, and I'll see some at Bacchus on the Beach when I DJ or fish there, at other locations when I'm off and have time to kill, or happen to hear of an impromptu contest at Grey Nacht's estate.  Many new customs will find permanent homes at regular fishing locations (in fact, tonight I need to add the two new Daleks to Retro Metro before DJing).  And there's next spring's Fishiversary to look forward to.

Fishstock Weekend Almost Upon Us

An exciting day.  Putting the new Daleks together, designing the fishing spot (I have several drawn and a few half-built) for the 7Seas Fall Fishing Festival.

I finally got a stream URL for KONA that I can use and listen to.  Yes maybe you can hear them, but if I can't then what's the point I say!  As it is I can't hear my own Dieselpunk stream in Cartoon World (one of these days I'm going to have to badger Gabriel Riel for an alternate URL of that).  Anyway I'll have KONAstream at the FFF.

Remember tomorrow evening is the big Child's Play fundraiser.  During a range of time all 7Seas vendor purchases will go to charity.  So wait until then to buy bait.

Livingtree is nearby as is my favorite steampenguin, Geoffrey Xenobuilder.  The won't have to travel to fish for their Daleks :P

I'm sitting in a local coffee shop.  When I'm off from work I like someone to serve me breakfast. It's been some time since I've been able to put that into practice.  Every Thursday "The Breakfast Club" puts tables together and has a good time in here. I'm counting about 16 folks. This is the third time in about 2 years that I've had breakfast on a Thursday morning, and each time it's a lot of fun and involves all patrons.  The organizer hands out silly flyers, and today someone has a birthday.   I was invited to join their group.  Well if they're still doing this when I'm retired... 

Someone is doing stand-up now :P

Another just did poetry. 

Prayers for someone home from the hospital.

Think more like 20 now in their train of tables.

Most of them are retired seniors with a handful of middle-agers.  Gives them another something to look forward to during their week. For other motivation to do creative stuff or prepare a presentation.  How many neighborhoods have something like this?  Okay, Bay City without the jokes.

So sue me - I like fries with my eggs

My last acts of procrastination before making the textures.

Daleks, PJs, Commemorative Tee's... I thought about rods but don't know if I'm ready for that just yet.

The Breakfast Club has set the mood for my day.  A pleasant, warm friendly vibe.  Listening to BBC Radio - much to catch up to...

See you on the other side.

Another for the Drama Books

Over ten days after baiting and perving me just for taking the time to be a friend and listen to her problems, former contact tried to drum up drama by notecard.  The clichéd "I was drunk and don't know everything I said" bit.  However a subsequent note suggested she knew enough of what she said; her attempt to apologize was not unconditional.   It was hinted (in ways I cannot mention here without giving away their identity to anyone) that they didn't really get the enormity of their offense (her actions are prosecutable in the *ahem* least uncivilized states of this country) and that I'd be up for more grief because - let's face it - a mindset doesn't change that much between soused and sober states.  Nothing manifests which isn't there to begin with.

She doesn't read this blog or she'd have known not to go there with either drunken behavior or afficaciousness.  And despite having seen my SL8B exhibit, the fact that everybody in SL has their own story and that there's always someone living a darker life and come here for the light never occurs to her.  She may never realize this because she's too into herself to think about others enough to respect them or what they may be going through themselves. 

If anything, true colors come through during these times.  Lesson learned. Good riddance.

What a crazy weekend!

Toontown becomes more and more significant as Halloween draws near.  Sorry, you'll get that from a cartoonist/animator.  While I won't be making a new black cat this year, there will be hundreds of new kittens out in force next Monday morning, and I'll be around to help them.  Before that it's earning pumpkin heads on most of my toons while trick or treating the shops.  Difference being the jellybeans we get for  it are the local currency, and who knows what new accessories they have planned for the holidays?  Better save up now!

On Friday I restored my ongoing Steampunk fiction after extracting the posts from New Babbage's site. I've made it a general scifi-time warp story, which releases me from any restraints.  It's up to entry 10 at http://holosteampunk.blogspot.com

Saturday in New London is a fun party to host.  The staff and regulars are a wonderful and sincere people.  Whovians just want to have fun.  The Steampunk theme went over very well.  I should have it again in a few months... heat up the winter...

Which reminds me. New Londoners have encouraged me to take a look at their Guy Fawkes exhibit. They feel I'm a pefect candidate since I'm a "Fawkes Virgin."  That and they know if I'm not sure of something I'll ask, and if like it, they know I won't be bullshitting them :)

My friend Tindy had a rezday party hosted by the Giant Snail Races folks (Safra & RacerX w/DJ Baldi) which was held under the sea. Gave me a reason to wear flippers and Racer to blow up a big birthday cake.

Sunday was full of adventure.  First, after investing in some nice housing textures and running a few through Photoshop, I finished the modified shack (as well as reduced its primcount).

There was the biweekly partay by the river in New Toulouse Algiers, this time for Halloween.  With the big Estate sale going on, Gabrielle Riel was inspired to waive purchase fees for land in New Toulouse.  Apparently a 512 had opened up that morning, so I grabbed it for 1L and chucked in 2 weeks' worth into the meter.  And plopped down Maison Bleu. After FFF I'll be making stuff for it :) Some free, some extremely cheap. Maybe some art too.

So yes, I'm now a Talooster too :)

Weird Al's 52nd. Edward Pearse had the Radio Riel Clarendon dance hall decorated with stuff and offered free accordions and twinkie weiners (gak). A celebration wild horses - or delusional goats - couldn't keep me away from.  Realized how many wonderful people I missed from New Babbage.  Well, we'll always have the Clarendon...

After that it was time to go into Halloween Mode and put on this week's pallor for Bacchus on the Beach.  Yes, it's true we all got out instruments on Friday night and air-jammed to Dat's music.  We didn't this time around, but it was still fun.  Somehow I earned bait and a small Linden prize for fifth :)

Pondering my Halloween playlist and anticipating some CDs to come in from Amazon via 2-Day Air.  I think Halloween Party is plenty for a theme - let people interpret that any way they want. The best avatar is the best avatar :) Their unltimate moment of self-expression.  It kicks off on TARDIS sim at Greenwich Park from 1:45pm SLT next Saturday the 29th.

(PS: Pictures will be added this evening when I get home)

Even with virtual actions, being sick can make them tiring.

Always gets in the way of everything.  Not going to have that treehouse party.  Just the thought of virtual dancing is making me feel exhausted.

It won't stop me from DJing through the end of this month though.  It *appears* that I have Halloween Night on Bacchus.  I don't know how realistic it is with parties all over SL, and to be blunt I usually spend my Halloweens in Toontown Online (Seven wants to make another black cat, and that's the only day of the year anyone can).  I'll spend much of the day helping new black cats with their tasks, taking them through buildings invaded by robot lawyers to boost their gag potential, get in on the many beanfests scheduled (aka people throwing free money), and so on.  Sounds like I should take the night off, doesn't it?  Don't know yet...

Okay well, I'll be DJing in New London the next two weekends for sure.  With Guy Fawkes Day coming up - the same date as Día de los Muertos - I can see potential that weekend with common themes between the two.

While Snurky no longer does the track races (I usurped the computer for the last cross-country one they had, but for a special event), Giant Snail Races have I think gotten better as their own production.  Without Treet to back them up, there's more a sense of accountability reflected in Racer's hosting.  He's become nicer.  I think it was too easy to be too much of a goon with Wiz on hand as a straight man (sometimes he came off like a babysitter, and I'd sweat out very awkward moments where he tried to save face sitting next to the unpredictible RacerX, who'd mock, snark, and sometimes slur).  All that's changed.  The camera work is better as well. I think the change was a healthy one.. Sort of like the Tower card in Tarot. Next week promises a Halloween setting with the ever creepy sea of Richard Simmonseses.

On an ironic note, earlier this week I was sexually harassed by someone on my contact list.  Guess they didn't read my blog post about coming inworld under the influence. For all I know she missed her meds?  Anyway never come to me for a serious talk and pull the suicide card just to get attention or try to fake screw me. It will never work.  Since then they disappeared for two days, then came back in without a word in my direction.  Second never: Never commit such an offense then make believe it didn't happen. It's a crime, regardless of where it occurs. If you're not responsible enough for your actions to make amends, particularly with someone you've led on for months that you're their friend, then let Karma deal with you.  They're going off my friend's list today. They had plenty of time to be a rational adult and take action accordingly. Now, as I mentioned in my older post, I have blogged about it.

Recouping and Regrouping

October is an expensive month of domain renewals and catching up with bills.  For some reason there are an excessive number of big events in Second Life as well, and not related to Autumn, Halloween, or Oktoberfest (which most people run in September, which is fucked up in my opinion).  No, everyone else and their Gorean Grandmother has some big shindig going on in October.

With Burn2 over I'm not attending anything serious before Halloween week.  I may have a casual thing next Saturday at the treehouse.  Don 't know yet.  It would involve little obligation or preparation.  My living room looks like the sort of place you'd have company and schmooze.  The lawn would serve best for a BBQ pit and some dancing. 

Eh.

I'm planning for the 7Seas Fall Fishing Festival.  A spot and new catchables.  If I have time, rods.

Before that, modifying a build. I may ask a favor and permission of an existing texture to modify.  I must make it blue.  I must make it wood.  These are paramount to the success of my project.  Don't ask why; just humor us artists and nod like you understand.  If all goes to plan you'll find out why sometime after the FFF.

I think Bay City has an Art Deco festival or something.  I guess if they did I would have gotten a thing to hang up.  Best way to tell sometimes.  Will there be a Halloween parade between the tricities like in past years? No word on that.

Researching things.  I can't tell you yet.

Skybeam is going on 5 and is planning a celebrations.

Toontown is where I'll be spending most of my Halloween, although at this moment it occurred to me that I'll be DJing on Bacchus that night.

May make some rennovations in the TARDIS soon; it all depends on money and I'm behind on my RL rent, so that's a factor.

Fundraising.  Didn't hear from contact.  I think the right way to go is ask someone inworld with experience.  Think it comes down to raising the money then giving it.

Back from the Playa

With scheduled events officially over, Burn2 remains through Wednesday for you to check out the exhibits and presentations with less lag.

I think even though it took up only 4 sims, there were more "big" displays than in past years.  People who noticed Gulliver in '09 ogled or nonstop praise for post-apocalyptic builds for Tokyo Stage felt that to get their messages across with  GREAT   BIG   MANNEQUINS.  All over the place.  Couldn't turn anywhere without something built large, where largeness wasn't part of the plan.

 back in 2009, when builds were builds

Biggest disappointment was this art camp.  The carefully shot videos and photos had me thinking: "Oh this is something else.  Look at that craftsmanship!" I sought ot out, only to find it was a giant texture with an alpha background.  Closer look of the piece made me wonder if the figure was actually drawn or Poser or a treated SL snapshot.  In other words the effect was just that: an effect. There was no actual form. No body up there.  Color me disillusioned.  Think of how much better all those mannequins could have looked if others on the playa used flat cardboard standups.  In fairness though, they could have had little time to prepare; I just had the least because I needed a hand operation.

 nice but it was never shot at this angle

Nice one by Trill.  I remember them from Show n Tell. As always Inner Child Camp is a fun place to explore for all ages... DMom2k collaborated on a girder tree with Chakra globes around it (very nice but didn't need to be 5x bigger than a old oak tree to get its point across or impressive). The temple was nice, but the Lamplighters barely went through their motions beyond their campsite.  For the ones I attended they showed up at the temple with the night half over - like around 8:05 - then most of the remaining went to bed before sunrise, leaving a skeleton group (of like 5?) to greet the dawn, among which only one or two played percussion and the rest danced.  In all very nice, with marvelous contraptions and interpretations of the theme. Just that they didn't all have to be so damn big.

 I think back on obscure but brilliant pieces in 2009,  lost in the vastness of an SL run playa.  How I got to know Further Monday and happen upon her as I watched a land rush, then visiting her modest parcel with its delicately designed umbrellas.  Who saw it besides her friends or those who walked beyond the busy regions? It was proof that something didn't have to be big to be great.

Not big but very very awesome. Fire racing to make patterns

This year mine was an inner journey, so the outside was intentionally unspectacular.  As often with me, what's inside is what counts the most.  Especially since I can look like you and you can look like me at any time in Second Life.  Rites of passage are inner journeys.  If your nature is that of a good listener, my presentation might appeal to you for the substance.  There's words accompanied by video, graphics, snapshots and original art.  I even included a concept sketch from a story I'd originally started on New Babbage's site.  I haven't stopped writing it; I may relocate it to its own Blogger page. It was inspired from an actual course of events while exploring their city last winter.

You have through about 3pm SLT today to see Reactivation Revelation Regeneration.

A Break Before Completion

I'm sitting beneath a painting by Van Gogh of an outdoor café bathed in yellow light. It's a comfort zone in eastern Jackson Heights.  It's been some time since I've made the time to have someone fix me a casual breakfast.

I had a scare this morning as my feet were swollen when I awoke.  Usually my ankles go down as I sleep and my feet are seldom edemic in the first place.  Things are getting worse as my lymphatic system starts a slow shutdown.  My grandmother and great-grandmother both died drowning in their own fluids, and I'm destined for the same fate.  Mom got lucky and inherited her father's metabolism and will outlive me if she doesn't meet with a serious injury at the nursing home.  She ensured my legacy of allergies intolerances and weak immune system by smoking during her pregnancy.

This place apparently became a Natives some months ago, a chain of Colombian restaurants; there's a larger one closer to where I live which serves as a dinner theatre.

Appropriately enough Nelly Furtado was on the radio when I came in.

With a heel which may either have tendonitis or a mild fracture, I was terrified into taking a walk out to the next community.  The round trip walk will rack me up 3 miles.  It won't do me much good if I don't do it again tomorrow.

I ordered a Colombian style breakfast, except it also will have a chorizo.  Aren't they Mexican?  Maybe not.  Anyway I'll be sparing with that or the additives will compensate for the walking and flare my entire body for 3 days.

They predict heavy rains today but there's no precipitation anywhere near the region on maps.

While most of the graphics are by me for Burn2,  there's an animation of an EMH's thought processes which I'm using from a graphics repository for RP and Trek fan sites.  You see Virginia, back in the days before social networking when everybody made websites, there were these people who offered superior graphical elements for non-commercial webpages in exchange for a link to them.  Linkware they were called.  The Brit LCARS site has linkware, fair use on the Playa with appropriate credit.  I'll have to use my profile and this blog to credit the creator.  I'd never take credit for something I didn't create.  Ever.

Breakfast is big.  Eating the carne asada and rice n beans mixed with egg; the arepa con queso and chorizo are coming home.

I'm back and my foot is now normal. I think after I finish the parcel I'll take another walk. Then work on my skin, then work on the freebie pack of skins, then work on the free Tee Shirts I'll offer on my parcel.

Yes I missed press day, won't be immortalized on a hand drawn map of the playa, or appear on Designing Worlds, but I believe you'll find my place worthwhile if you take the time to walk through it.

Don't Drink & Drive

Don't drink and drive.

Ever.

This means vehicles, heavy machinery, your fists, or an Internet-enabled device.

You will always hurt someone.

Always.

You can devastate them with bullshit just by saying words. 

Saying "sorry" and other expressions of apology are so rare these days.  It seems to be reserved for the brave or twelve-stepper while the rest gouge deeper out of a false sense of pride, say they were joking, or - the worst offense of them all - turn it around and make the victim appear as and feel like a hated, despised criminal.

No, the western world of the 21st century is no more civilized than the rest of the planet.

Sometimes sorry isn't enough.  Being online under the influence will hurt people online to such a degree like rearending a compact full of little kids at a red light.

The question is, if you're sorry and truly regret that alien sentiments left your mouth or keyboard, and sorry isn't enough, what more can you do to make up for it?  Start thinking up a year of special service you could offer for them to show the sincerity of having admitted error once you've made it clear to everyone else that you were referring to yourself when you said what you said.

Being under the influence is no excuse.  If you're drunk or high then either lock yourself into a room away from everyone and breakables and sleep it off or watch TV, or go to rehab. 

Or I start to blog about you.  The only thing worse than degrading my downtime is hurting others within my sights, especially my friends.

Doctor's Appointment or "The Big Eep"

Nervous.

Dreading. 

Dreading nothing will get done today.

Dreading I'll undergo a procedure.  Not good with lying on my back - well the last time he inclined me - and whine about the tourniquet.

It was six years ago when I came for a ganglion cyst resting on the tendon on my other thumb.

"I can give you cortisone."

"That didn't work last time."

"Then it should be excised."

"Let's do it."

Flashback eleven years before...

... In an HMO on the Long Island Jewish Hospital campus, I was referred to a hand specialist for a ganglion cyst on my left middle finger.  The cortisone shot felt cold, but other than some unpleasant side effects nothing happened.  We had to schedule an outpatient procedure in the HMO's surgical room.  The resulting experience was immortalized in an APAzine.  
In 2005 I gave him a copy of the mini-comic.  He got a kick out of it.

I don't know anyone else who walks around recording their diagnoses. He always did, except now people transcribe them for him.

Anyway he has his own place, his own building and not some shared clinic.  His own surgical equipment in the exam rooms?  He has full surgical facilities.  The one I was in six years ago was where the impromptu procedure took place.  He doesn't know yet that in the six weeks waiting for this day that I'd seen the proverbial unknown devil and had X-rays and a diagnosis, except I can no longer straighten my left thumb out as much as the other.

In the exam room.  This is an exam exam room. A laptop. Pretty screensaver I remember from back then is also on a wall mounted monitor.  He ski's I see...

Been moved to another room - definitely equipped for surgery.  I remember this room. I wonder if my description on the phone in August gave them a little heads up of what I had?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Back at work a day later. 

He heard the 2 month history, gave me the hurts-like-hell shot, and took all of 8ish minutes for the procedure. Was rather relaxing. Then Dad and I went to a really good Kosher Deli nearby.  All this prospect about sedation for a little snip was such BS. 

I knew it would be sore today etc, but it means I get full use of my hand back, and that means everything to me.  From the first moment after the procedure I could bend my thumb again. Maybe by the end of the week I can "flick" things, hold up a cooking pot with two hands, zip up a jacket as we see 50sF for the first time since April, make a sincere fist...

Well okay, everything in its time.

Snurky Wins a City of Concorde Race!

It takes someone with courage to admit they're wrong or afraid in the face of impending destruction.  I was scared shitless on Saturday night. I hadn't felt like that since the night of 9/11.  We were very lucky in our community.  Two communities over there was damage from a tornado, and earlier in the local bus' route there were downed trees.

Look at all the people who can't admit they're wrong or get caught in lies built up over time, desperate to keep an image. 

And what is an image if not a reflection of one's actions?

No not the other kind of image.  Any one of us could like like any other one of us if we wanted.  If I had a dime for every common dirty shaven kendoll hunk moose in second life who thought they looked better than anyone else, I'd own an estate and unlimited tier.

I mean image as in reputation, especially buying using money to earn fake friends and make oneself irreplaceable yet feared. Even if I had that kind of money, I just wasn't brought up that way to have such an inclination.  What a waste of life and everyone else's time.


People were shocked I didn't have a place at Burn2, particularly after having experienced my own rite of passage in SL this past year and an eagerness to express it in on the playa after being unable to commit to a spot last year. 

To be honest only Snurky entered the lottery;  I didn't feel it was right for two avatars on the same computer to try out for that.  I made a Campsite application which was rejected; despite a hyperdetailed form to fill out, the winners were supposedly picked at random.  If you can believe that, well... 

Maybe it's for the better.  The event is still rife with hypocrisy if my run-in with their SL8B presentation is any indication.  And that first meet-up for the applications left a rather negative impression: someone as a horned beast sitting on a throne overseeing everybody dance in fire isn't what I'm about.  Talk about the biggest group affiliation in the western world... 

I'll just make some skins for a freebie pack and hopefully get to finish a couple of builds for their DMV (I can't script as you know).  Of course I'm disappointed I don't have a spot, but I don't have money to buy one and I learned long long ago that art is like showbiz: a lot of talents and only a few get the time of day. That's just the way it is.  I applied for a couple of DJ spots. If I get them at least then it will be something. Whatever happens happens with them.


Anticipating the 7Seas Fall Fishing Festival in October.  Maybe I'll achieve hall of fame there?  I'll make more customs to debut at a spot. I have some ideas for that.

I think looking back that I still have more than enough to work on. :)  I'm certainly in a better place in SL than I was a couple of months ago. Still venture into New Babbage once a week for a Radio Riel event dominated by decent folks.  It works best that way.

Hurricane Fever

Writing about a hurricane.  Not something we do here. I'm not good without electricity.  Like most people with thyroid probs, I run into problems with heat.  And with my thumb it will be quite a challenge to sharpen pencils and charcoals by hand.  With my immune disease (and for the umpteenth time: it's not AIDS) I  have a weak digestive constitution and get sick from food which is a tiny bit off. And that's of the food I can eat.  Lighting matches to start a burner - hmm didn't think about that.  Which hand does that?  Ah, holding the box firmly...

I Go it Alone (OOC)

A Weight Watchers habits evaluation years ago concluded I need to ask for help more. It's true. Aside from whining to friends about this or that, other than asking dad many years ago to drive me to the ER or staying at his place during bug treatment, I haven't asked for help.

I've been alone with my current medical plight. Apparently I'm a susceptible candidate, and attempting to install my own deadbolt lock in July pushed me over a line. Not just pain but limited function of my left thumb and it's getting worse.

It took 3 weeks to see a hand surgeon, 6 since it all began. The X-rays looked picture perfect. "Flexorpollicis longus tendonitis" he calls it, something which would require a 15 minute procedure to prevent an inflamed tendon from getting further aggravated.

But not today. He'd have to set up something at some surgical facility off Union Square. In a week or so. It's Labor Day in "or so." And I should have someone "take me home," which is really not possible in Manhattan. Dad doesn't do Manhattan.

In 3 weeks my regular hand surgeon's appointment is up. He has surgical facilities on the premises.  I should explain the "regular" bit:  In 2003 on the spot he operated on my other hand to remove a ganglion cyst from my right thumb. This was 11 years to the month after he took one off the base of my left middle (bird?) finger.

Do I regret not paying through the nose for the locksmith in the first place? This wasn't anticipated. Maybe I should have asked my neighbor for help...

Someone made a custom splint which doesn't let my thumb bend, and it makes a difference. I should wear this while I sleep, the doctor said.

I have a ride for Nassau County.  There's a 99% chance I'll go with the doctor I know, with dad driving me.

Before then it's 1-1/2 hands typing. You'll see even less capitals as the weeks pass. I'll see less mobility and more pain. The way the weather is going right now isn't helping.

Hurricane Bernadette

 Well that was interesting!

New Toulouse was hit by a hurricane over the weekend.  I missed the bulk of special effects by the time I heard about it, and arrived while the place was flooded.  I managed to hitch a ride on a roof that was adrift.  Several people sat on crates while it navigated through the flood waters in search of survivors.  At one point a couple of us heard what could have been snoring.  We were told it was zombies. 

Uh oh.

We drifted past the Jardin district, which is set on higher ground and was largely unaffected, but hitting the main sim and Bourbon the shops and homes' first levels were submerged and goods damaged.  One artist refused our offer of a dry roof ride in favor of lamenting her ruined paintings.

Then gunshots.  We were near the cemetery.

Oh boy.

I was given "essence of broccoli" and advised that zombies hated vegetables.  I went a step further and wore a pumpkin on my head.  I extracted a gourd shooter from my inventory.  Then I headed back to the Bayou. 

Being a hologram has its advantages.  No need for an oxygen source comes in handy in flood waters.  I walked the perimeter of the Bayou and Algiers but heard no zombies.  With the waters all murky I probably would have hit a moaning local anyway.

The waters have since receded in New Toulouse.  Other than one casualty of sorts everybody was accounted for.

I'm a little curious though why the New Babbage Marines were represented in the cemetery fight if they exist in another century?

Anyway I was tipped off that there was a video account! So take a look

Second Life: VRMLers' Great Intimidation

Still coming down from last weekend.  It will be good to hit Toontown tonight.  But first a little offline work for some folks.

A longtime friend from Cybertown - for whom I had high hopes once they upgraded their PC - told me the inevitable last night: he wouldn't be building anything in Second Life.

High hopes because the ones who tend to mentally crash and burn when making the transition from VRML to SL have been handcoders; they never grasped wysiwyg creation over typing coordinates in notepad. 

This lush forest was probably handcoded

My friend wasn't like them.  He used Spaz3D like me for a building tool, except he learned every nook and cranny of its settings to make his own avatar,  vehicles, interactive stuff (such as a knife throwing act), roller coasters, an aquarium and a fjord with intermittent glacial avalanches which my friends and I used to surf.

In the interim he took up nature photography, again learning every setting and control on his camera to produce the most dazzling images.  Several won him awards and have appeared in exhibits in his home town.

But after two years he's still in a noobish human avatar (unaware he is wearing some vampire scam group's tag), and thoroughly unwilling to see how easy it is to adapt to inworld building.  Even before his upgrade he could have worked with offline modeling progs (after all, what was Spaz3D?) and mastered sculpts.

We all go through the phase of wishing the dozens or hundreds or so builds we made for another platform could be converted and uploaded into Second Life.  Years of work down the tubes.

He and I were among a group of creators categorized as "world builders.".  Let me explain the nature of VRML 2.0 before going any further.

The filetype wrl refers to "world" and in a way, anything VRML can be a world.  From avatars to objects to the environment itself, it's all the same file type.  Griefers would wear a house or whole world as their avatar and enter a world.  Very existential.

 Exact replica of Wetzlar Cathedral in Germany

However, the title of world builder refers to creating a world/ environment / dimension/ universe within a finite space (which could still be vast), have sky or boundaries and be where people can exist.  Add Blaxxun plug-in capability and associate with a hosting network and it becomes a shared world among many.  A very different sort of build from an object or creature.

 Peter the Pig's Lost at Sea at low tide was
a tribute to tsunami victims

Let me tell you about the difference in building rules.  The build structure worked like a tree.  The wrl was always linked but you could make subgroups and move portions or objects within a build.  Groups contained and retained their properties - for example phantom - while other grouped parts retained theirs.  An example was when I first came here and learned that setting the water prim of a pool to phantom would have consequences if I were to link it to the rest of the build. I really miss that aspect of VRML creation, but I learned to pack them into rezzers here.  And being able to use a shape to bite a hole or piece out of another.  Also extrusions in Spaz3D were very, VERY easy to manipulate.

 Me as bacon crossing a bridge

 It's what we did as world builders.  Some like my friend incorporated interactive elements like rides or shootable cannons (or that time we all piled into a glass case to see how many of us could disappear together in his illusionist magic act).  He'd wear his blimp as an avatar and ride us around.  I think he likes doing that sort of thing the most.

 Kirido in one of four modes with a central observatory

and a breathtaking view

Here in Second Life we have not just blimps and airships but historic models, models which were designed but never flown in RL, some used for advertising as in real life, and so on.   While building inworld has its limitations, creators have managed some incredible things.

Consider that for most of Second Life's heyday, sculpts didn't even exist.  It's all about prim mangling.

To me, both platforms have much in common.  As a traditional artist, I had to first establish the perspective that 3D modeling meant breaking an object down to its basics and plan what shapes comprised it.  Here the same approach applies to what I had to do for VRML.  From that point you plan based on the shapes you know you're capable of creating and you're on your way.

 Antoine's Aquarium is in a room - and you're bait-size

Those who have made the transition are successful in Second Life.  Modesty forbids me from namedropping publicly, but many have been here since 2004 or 2005.  Also I share a view that it takes a type of person who wants to be known for who they've met instead of what they themselves have done.

I regret that my friend was more discouraged than inspired when he finally got here.  Guess there was always that possibility.

Mock Stardom for Ninety Minutes

Summer & Lightning

So this is what it's like to be a mock star...

The ELO show went surprisingly well, even though - yes - my hand missed the fret bar like some spaz noob  avatar.  You know I even took the lowest common denominator route and wore tight jeans, just in case.

Heh.

I have to say the New London folk were very kind and turned a blind eye from the primcount of the instruments. Mayo - a neon fur space wolf - was just awesome on drums while coaching the crowd into a frenzy.  Jayne managed the lights while she played synths, guitar, and violin.  I ran the stream, controlled the weather (successfully) during certain songs, played two styles of guitar, keytar, and piano after Jayne & I played dual snares for the opening introduction (Drum Dreams).

It all went perfectly. I was shocked with how well it went actually, but certainly not complaining.  Would I do it again?  Got a year to think about it.

As for the saucer, there was no time to make a "serious" build, so I went with something that looked more like an inflatable object and added a little valve to it.  Other than the actual ELO logo the rest of the textures were original ;). I put two levels of tour shirts in it and a dance umbrella as freebies.

Of course in the end the most important thing was the music.  I put new songs, old songs, "previously unreleased" songs, with instrumentals at both ends to allow for much green chat.

 Ticket to the Moon

Lol we even had a stage diver who had to be removed.

All in all a great time. With it out of the way I got to check out the other events like the SL Cheerleader Squad, "Elvis", Wellzy's awesome Ska party, and a few others.

If you attended the ELO show, thanks for coming and hope you had a great time!

It was also a weekend for things in New Toulouse, including an old jazz/big band party on Sunday afternoon.  I'm really feeling comfy there. I guess I shouldn't have tried to fit into something so ill-suited for me with New Babbage. NT is more my speed and it's a part of my heritage.  Annnd tonight is Madhu's after my DJing at Bacchus.

btw fair warning: I got me a few new CDs of stuff I only had on vinyl, so I'll add some of the songs to Bacchus and New London playlists :)

Pre-Show Whining

I spent too much money on instruments I may never use again.  I probably need 3x my prim alotment. Someone is BOUND to break their leg right before the performance...

Have 3 more textures to make for the saucer, then it's set planning time.  Can use a sandbox I know.  Where things should be rezzed etc...

I decided not to go with the spacesuit.  Can't have elaborate joint torii on your body AND play instruments.  Might just stick with a retro rock'n'roll look. 

I want to offer a free tour shirt to attendees.  That's another prim.  Tipjars are to be 1 prim for each of us.

Headset.  Functional this time for carrying my voice (I have a script somewhere).  Might actually reduce the saucers for the design if not just use the available logo from the Jeff Lynne night I had last month.

And true to form:  someone has planned an event opposite my itsy 90 minutes guaranteed to divert contact list friends from attending.  Story of my life.

I'll be too busy with streaming, switches, animating, and counting to fifteen at the start of each song to think about taking snapshots, so if any of you attend tomorrow and get good pics, do share?

I wonder if I should make freebie dancing umbrellas like I did for Mardi Gras?  That's a thought!  Another prim...

Oh right.  One more thing to get... at 4D Studio... heh...

HUDs...

I can't understand why people need to fill their screens with them.  At Show & Tell you could build the freakin' Taj Mahal, but some guy follows you with a HUD demonstration and half the people there wet themselves. Just another thing you can do that you otherwise didn't need to, except you can play with onscreen buttons.  It's the one thing which puts fear into the hearts of builders group exhibitors.

Anyway, I normally have a teeny tiny HUD in one corner.  It calls up a menu for my TARDIS and - if I get a freudian urge - a sonic screwdriver if I happen to have one on me.  However in all fairness the sonic does have a few nice practical features.

Anyway, this tiny HUD leaves me to experience SL with minimal obstruction, just the way I like it.

That may have to change for Saturday's show.  Looks like I found my effects on the marketplace.  I'll be able to control things - and hope I don't mess up as I count 15 seconds after the start of every song.  I've little to worry about with blogging about this as most of my friends don't come to my DJ events; they'll never see me mess up for this one.

 An interesting twist is with magnum sims upgrading tomorrow.  I could conceivably make the saucer big enough to hover over the audience.  Except I don't like using V2.

I wonder if I should go the Westbury Music Fair route with staging?  If I could make the stage impervious to non-owner clicking then there are some REAL possibilities!

This is scary.  I haven't been this psyched in some time.

New London Festival this Saturday

Hmmm...

I don't think I've ever seen a guitar player with convincing animation in Second Life.  And while I've seen a mock-up Wilburys concert once, it was a bit weird and I'd have just wanted to dance to the music regardless of who or what was on stage.

The pressure's on to put together something special this Saturday for my set at the New London Festival.  Well for someone like me it's pressure.  I'd like to hover a giant build over the audience.  I'd want it to produce lightning and storms... Yeah I think full contol of local environment via the saucer is what I'd do.

I guess I'd contol the colors and meteorological activity by a HUD.

It's not something I'd do as a habit,  but being a special event there are expectations and I want to live up to them.  After all I do it for everyone's enjoyment.  Give them a good time from their real lives.

If I could script.  Right now it's can only be an idea.

A Good Week for a Change

It's been a good week.  While it's easy to be moved to write when there's misrepresentation or bullying to bring to light (I'll gladly leave irrational hate and fibbing for the schemers to spew forth), it's always great when things fall into place.

Removing certain groups from my list was very therapeutic.  I have one friend left whom I made in "that place" and I get a strong impression they're too polite to remove me but may prefer that I no longer existed in their world.  So far it's been only me saying hello.  I could be wrong, but I might remove a weight off their shoulders if I don't see a change.   It's times like these I'd like to be proven wrong, but conditional friends are barely any friends at all, if not grounds to be a friend when the tide turns.

We had an 80s Night at the beach on Monday.  Best dressed avatar contest in addition to 7Seas'.  I even made a plastic-look headset for the occasion.  The playlist was both easy and tough.  I had ripped a lot of CDs the day before and in minutes had almost three hours of music picked.  The tricky part was deciding what to leave out.  In the end everybody had a great time with many not having heard some songs since they were hits.  It always feels good when you know you've made someone's downtime worthwhile.  That's why I do it.  This is all about downtime.

New Albert Hall's working out as well.  I try to put something Who into that one for obvious reasons.  I've been invited to participate in London Fest.  I'd play a 90 minute set from one band (got dibs on Electric Light Orchestra).  Will see what I can prepare for that one in the way of multimedia accompaniment as it seems customary.  If anything it compensates for not having a Burn2 plot.

Furnished the treehouse as much as I'd want to. Who needs a bathroom or a kitchen in Second Life?!

More good news: deleted Google+

What negative occurrence can we turn into something positive?  The most unhappy news of all: the mortality of Abbotts Aerodrome.  Cubey Terra announced that it's up for sale in September.  This is more than just property, and many of us wish Linden Lab would strike a deal so it becomes property of LDPW with mole attractions and continued trips to Nova Albion and Hau Koda.  Even with a little arranging planes can start from Hau Koda back to Abbotts as well as out to Calleta's Hobo infohub (should they ever manage to stabilize the northern Sansara corridor).

 We can only hope to continue to see that grand tower as a symbol of the best our earliest mainland settlers had to offer...

...if you can call this normal...

She's put banlines around her building and I'm gonna ask her for a refund? Yeah right. Over 2 weeks left on the Clockhaven meter, almost a month since I said good riddance. That's a lot of rent lost. On the bright side: good riddance. To hipocrisy, false politeness, and juvenile behavior not attributed to urchins. The only thing I'll miss there are Edward Pearse's events at The Clarendon for Radio Riel and Blackberry Harvey's DJing in Sweetwater Square.

I got this nice piece of furniture built for the shop.  Guess I could put it up in The Marketplace.  I just use my old SLEX box.  But what if I need another box?  Will I get an SLEX box or one with the Second Life logo on it?

I really should put more stuff on the marketplace, like the silly noses and inner tube... The classic deco gallery building... Yeah I'm just all over the place, aren't I?

First *OFFICIAL* DJ gig at Bacchus on the Beach worked out well last week, except that putting the music on random lumped the newer material together.  No more random. Second DJ gig at New Albert Hall in TARDIS was a hit on Saturday.  Just shifted my repertoire up by a decade for them. Filled in last night at Bacchus when thunderstorms grounded Dat in RL. Madhu's regrettably will be on hiatus for the next couple of weeks (also another grounding in RL of a sort; come back soon Carter!), freeing me up to DJ at Bacchus more, so for the next two weeks I'll be providing their music on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The Starship Diner event last Friday was... quiet.  My usual time for events is Saturday after Livingtree fishing but because of the weekly summer fireworks I moved my parties to Friday evenings. Everyone's usually doing something else on Fridays, including myself.  There were birthdays and rezdays I inadvertently scheduled against - one which I would have liked to attend if I could be in two places at once.  Ah well. At least I got to see an old friend from the VRML days; we pummeled him with information in a frantic effort to get him up to speed.

Made the Taco Supreme Dalek finally.  Debut it at Show n Tell.  He's a new Super Ultrarare at Retro Metro in Sistiana.  The Purple Relay Dalek remains available for a donation until all Relay for Life vendors self destrict sometime next month. After that: no more purple Dalek.  Unless someone copies him of course.  Hey, it's their soul.

The heatwave hit a dangerous high for my medical category and I remained sequestered from Thursday through Saturday at home. Got credit for working remotely.  I hate working from home; it's like tainting my computer. But there was plenty to do. Caught up on some DVDs at the same time, half-listening to them from the side.

Today back into the real world, hitting the office following a doctor's appointment. 

Going to see what I can do with my backyard in Hydrangea. Moved my sandbox beneath the diner.  I think I'd like to put my conservatory in the backyard.  Yes, I have a conservatory. Doesn't everyone? 

It's nice that other than that and the matter of an intrusive tree I have to bring up to the "treehouse estate," there are no real points of concern.

Oh yes, Burn2.  If I get a campsite, I win. It always comes down to the best ham. Some endorsed darling will get them over me (although "endorsed" SHOULD mean that their spot was already paid for via their benefactor, right?  Endorsed means covering materials and venue, the means to make and exhibit their art).  I'll design some vehicles for the DMV. They think I'm going to script them. They've never seen my résumé.

Relay for Life Weekend

What an inspiration Relay For Life weekend was.  I wore the tag for Giant Snail Relay team, seeing how clammy the other tag had become and how I was told I wasn't needed.  Tindy had done practically all the work on the Snails' campsite, so I had a feeling no one would be relaying for them.  Racer suggested I put out my Snail shirts and Whoish vendors to bring in more donations; the team went gold level on Saturday. Total raised at this writing for the American Cancer Society by Second Life: US$373,098.

At first there were others participating.  We rooted for the first lap passersby, waving flags.  Survivors and Caregivers.  I knew so many people running and walking by us, and they appreciated our cheers.  It seemed I was wrong about the track and the impression that it was this long road which took 24 hours to complete.  More like 45min-hour, with special theme laps where we put on silly things or changed form (like the animal lap). Running by interesting builds and people cheering you on...  Proud I managed to raise 10,000 Lindens before the weekend festivities began and another few thousand during the relay from the roadside donations.  By the end of the event most of the luminaria lining the road were lit.  I'd been reunited with so many people I hadn't connected with in ages:  folks from past SL events, other causes, show n tell, previous neighbors, 7Seas fishers, Office Hours, Whovians, and so on.


It was clear that I would be the only one to run for the team.  As I've said, there were others who like me claimed more than one team tag, but they ALL represented the other.  After the first half a day, no one rooted from the campsite.  It was deserted for most of the weekend.

But the major thing is I got to run. And run. And run for all I did.  I've helped raise over 12k, about 5k of it for Giant Snail Relay's tally, maybe more; vendor sales sporadically continue.  I got to cheer people who did all they did without any personal agendas save success.  That's the spirit!

As expected, New London had been omitted again from inclusion by the Dr Who Fans Relay team, so they were unaware of the Relay weekend (Victor continues to be oblivious of an ever growing conflict between two concepts: being in charge and community obligation). When I invited Laredo Lowtide to check out the luminaria and how fans could light them in Elisabeth Sladen's name as well as for family and friends, I could tell the very setting of people running past and the luminaria - with their dedications to loved ones struggling or long gone - was something they would want to become a part of one way or another next year.  The management is so busy - maintaining TARDIS sim is a fulltime job. Maybe they need some sort of public events coordinator or something. They certainly have enough group members if not active events participants to make their own team.  Hell if the Snail Races can do it with no one on the campsite for most of the weekend, I think a good gaggle of Whovians could maintain a team presence on the track as well as put something fantastic together for a campsite. The Doctor after all is the mother of all humanitarians.

I'm sure next year will be different. It always is after the first time.  I know more people involved, am involved with more people who are involved, and Who knows what happens in 2012? :)

Remember I have a year-round kiosk in Hydrangea near the diner sign. While RFL is a seasonal campaign, cancer hits whenever it hits.

A Blog Post in Search of a Title

Relay for Life weekend.  With my involvement in the New Babbage campsite build trashed (apparently  *not* due to any Amishesque shunning), I've dropped hints about participating in the relay itself (which I've wanted to do since Dr Fran told me there was an actual relay) in a public forum, which have thus far gone unresponded to.  I gave their RFL team captain the benefit of the doubt that they could have been too busy to come back after the first post and accosted them by IM.  I want to parricipate. It's been a day and no word.

I'm also handing the computer over to Snurky Saturday afternoon for a Tiny Snail crosscountry on the Relay For Life sims.  With Tindallia Soothsayer's help they have a course.  Please give Tindy kudos when you see her. She makes the trophies, co-designed the home track (the good parts), built the SL8B parcel for them, planned the RFL course, made the tiny snails available for a donation to race this weekend, and more I know I've missed.
I'm 99% sure where I'll call my home for a treehouse.  A 2-way interview went on yesterday and I showed the estate owner my choices of prefabs.  Confirmed that any boughs extending into common land would be fine.  A common sense covenant and a diverse, active community - but not isolationist or separatist.  Here we are all wearing RFL purple (as always clicking will show a fullsize picture):

Won't count New Toulouse out yet for other things.  I still like the idea of having a shop of prints, only not where I can see banlines.  If that were fixed in New Babbage then their landscape wouldn't be reduced to the look of a cheap mainland parcel.

How does one enforce quiet catch for a 7Seas fishing area?  Is this now an option on the server?  I know: rtfm

Google+ Gets a Lesson in People Skills

Google+ is having an identity crisis. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a social network or a datamining racket. Despite its having been around since the 90s it somehow fails to realize that there are many levels of personae on the Internet and that there is no simple black and white when categorizing them for inclusion.

Let's go over the key categories so Google has a point of reference. They obviously haven't been looking at their own search results (and they used to be the cool search engine)...

1. RL. That's it. Real name. Actual location. They're either posted for business networking or for staying in touch with family and friends. Fair game for knew-you-when types and people from Jr High you don't miss. Also fair game if you met someone on a dating site or went into RL Mode with a virtual relationship and they're stalking you and your friends list.

2. Real but Protected. This can take many forms, particularly initialled or using a false name known only by your "inner circle" for the purpose of convenient remote interaction with a specific group of people and no access to profile specifics from outsiders. Can be confused with 3.

3. Virtual identity. A combination of 1 & 2. It protects the offline identity but serves a genuine purpose for people who have forged relationships and contacts online. Even in some cases the virtual identity is used for business contacts on an overt level while individuals may know eachother offline. Virtual and real are not so different except that one gets the bills; online they take on the same nontangible form. I've been using them since 1996. I have more friends and acquaintances online, particularly since all my local friends moved away from the area. I've touched many lives and have been enriched by many lives. No corporate entity has a right to judge the quality of my life based on my onliine name or profile image, which says at least as much about me than someone who posts a picture of their cat or baby.

4. Role Play identity. This in itself is a grey area category, and unfortunately the Virtual identity is lumped together with them. While this may be important to the player and their gaming friends, a roleplay identity limits their interactions to them and other game contacts. Out of Character discussion involves rules strategies and story. All considerations aside of how much time gamers spend and the limitations of their networking, they almost always have a voice in a game-related forum and dont really need or rely on general social networking sites.

5. The Façade - may be a blogger or reviewer who keeps their actual identity a secret, even may satirically take on the identity of a fictional character but obviously so. They are often witty but mostly of service to their genre community. For example "Dr Longscarf" compiles the best news links that come to him that day for Dr Who fans. He kids about being a timelord. We know he isn't one, and he's good for a debate or two when the situation calls for it.

6. The impersonator. Fake accounts for known fictional characters and celebrities. I'm following Queen Elizabeth II on Twitter. I know it's not her, but she's funny. So's Tony Stark. I can see where a social networking site such as Facebook and Google+ would object to them, and in many cases it's an act of griefing to pose as someone else. But to confuse these with types 1-3 or even 4 is ludicrous.

Google+ has to do right by the virtual community. It IS a community.  Unless the US$300,000 mark we're closing in on for Relay for Life doesn't count either?

Home Hunt Front

Unlike the fiction I've been serializing, New Babbage proper does not have a patch resembling a residential district.

I took a close look at New Toulouse's covenant.  It wouldn't be the right place for the sort of treehouse I have in mind.  Otherwise seems very nice: themed but not role play, similar to Bay City in that respect.  Don't know about the prospect of a zombie hunt though...

Even before the owner of New Caledon expressed animosity against Bay City, I had seen their estate and it didn't appeal to me.  Someone suggested Winterfell, but aren't they reputed to be dark or gothic?  I'm so not that. Update: they aren't from that era. More knights and dragons and the like.

I visited some of Antiquity this week.  It didn't seem as though their sims were structured like a cohesive community.

Maybe it's just not the era to look to for a Victorian treehouse?  That could be!

Well when I get home (writing this while waiting for the LIRR to arrive)  I'll join the last half of the Clarendon event then work on those portraits for New Babbage.  Wonder if they'd be interested in auctioning them off to give to the winners at the end of the big RFL event? 

I think maybe some protein first and foremost when I get off the subway near home...

El Tracero de Chivo

A busy weekend.  Completing a series of portraits depicting the forefathers of Steampunk is paramount.  I was told it was thought I'd left the project.  No more than anybody else, as there were no further meetings and no group notices.  Seems I haven't stopped blogging about it in the interim.  They don't know it though...

Final Relay For Life DJ gig will be on Sunday from 7-9am SLT in Bay City.  That's a comfy 10am my local time.  Then it's back to the diner maybe for events.  It's what it was made for.

Could have saved Bacchus last night except I forgot to - are you ready for this? - change the stream URL in land properties.  Well no wonder the shoutcast thing didnt work!  Anyway the contest went short accidentally too so it wasn't just me.  It was "one of those days" in general.

I'm a bit peeved that Firestorm has no visible means to mute UI sounds.  I hate UI sounds.  If there's a slide or checkbox buried somewhere can someone please let me know how to get to it?

Interesting backlash from a recent post about Victorian women bluntly and tactlessly flirting a little beyond the boundaries of double entendre with a half-goat in group chat and during events.  How nice to "behave Victorian" just when it's convenient.  Like I said, even between humans it's questionable conduct in that scenario.  It really makes a sham of all the formal greetings people practice among eachother.  Second Life is a big place which accommodates anything legal- and turns a blind eye to some of the illegal - all as long as nonconsenting parties aren't involuntarily subjected to it.  So do I. Respect works both ways.

The theme, rating, and covenant of a group or estate serve as a guide and to protect the greater public.  At the moment it should protect me from being subjected to banlines.  Not that I'd want to go into their establishments, but shouldn't I be allowed to pass them and not be aware of them, which is the point of the covenant rules to restrict banline usage?  Yes they can do what they want with their property - as long as they're compliant of the covenant (which I haven't broken), but one would think that it would be in everyone's best interest for me to be oblivious to their locales.  Apparently we're not talking about mature individuals with communications skills.  One of those who set up banlines I barely know at all. Note in covenant link there is an absolute line about "ban lines" being forbidden.

See?  They DO read my blog, only not important entries like plans for fundraising.  I related a series of incidents which I found very unpleasant and insulted my sensibilities. I have a right to my opinion in my blog offworld.   I don't have to like what they're doing, and they have no right to force me to endure it.  If they're not behaving cute to others outside their clique then that's neither my problem nor my fault. I'm not stopping them from doing anything on their own time, just don't do it in my face.  Like I said I've closed chat on New Babbage and a Dr Who group (before I left it) during inappropriate conversation. I did my part inworld, and I've done the right thing.

I heard Victor1st wrote a long rant about me. I don't know how he could write anything at length because he doesn't know me.  And we've seen how he lets his imagination run away with the keyboard!  For the record, here's the extent of my interaction with victor1st Mornington in New Babbage:

I used to go to his dance parties. I politely tipped him for DJing.

Yep. That's it.  He hadn't been present for any of the Relay for Life planner meetings I've attended, and I don't recall whether he's made a showing at the Salon lectures when I was there.  The most we see eachother are in fact at events where many others are present. We don't interact any more than I would others I don't know at them, and there are certainly enough people during those who see that nothing happens. I just enjoy the music and marvel at the personae people have nurtured. There's only that time at SL8B weeks back where he scheduled that joke of an event opposite mine which blocked my friends from coming to join us for a couple of minutes.

Anyway I was keen to move on from the lame victor nonsense but these things crossed my desk the past day or so.  Maybe that's it for them finally. No I'm not interested in reading his drivel. There are more important things like health, family, helping New Babbage out with the Relay for Life project, and the comic.  Let him keep digging himself deeper with lies and embellishments; it's what he does best.

In more worthwhile news, Snurky did a PSA for Relay for Life! I'm so proud of her :)  She got to meet Pooky Amsterdam.  But before that she had a scare. Snurky arrived in my backyard off Rt 2 and there were no land properties. Seems the region was temporarily netsplit from the grid.  Only thing one can do is specify another region when you log back in and force the viewer to start you somewhere new.  Suddenly chat windows opened up. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

Horse Durvies

With SL8B over, the next thing to look forward to is Relay For Life.  I'm working on some art for New Babbage's place there.  I should have both that and the first of my shop art this weekend.

I made a scripted headset but it seems it may have a finite sequence set.  I need to find which parameter is setting the limit and stopping the animation.

Bought a large TARDIS for an upcoming party.  Turned out to be so big that I had to reposition everything else. It was encroaching into Route 4. Seven saw it last night.  Yeah it's like a catering hall.

 click it for a fullsize shot

Breakfast in Babbage celebrates its 2nd anniversary this Saturday at 11am Eastern / 8am SLT.  I think I have an idea for that. It's held at the Clarendon and simulcast on steampunk.radioriel.org.

There was a furry in a squirrel avatar who would frequent Blue's Office Hours.  She had really ugly feet.  No reason for mentioning this other than I passed a squirrel on a fence on the way to the subway this morning and its feet reminded me of her...

Out of four presenters last week at Show & Tell, I came in fourth.

I tried to install my deadbolt lock.  Now it locks on the inside but not via the key.  I think I know what I did wrong...

Snurky is thinking twice about completing the season with Giant Snail Races. There's a definite line between designing a challenging track and making things ridiculously hard just to see people struggle.  That's neither fun nor funny, and Snurky is no masochist.  It would certainly free the computer up for us if she left...

I'm still looking for a place I could have a large Victorian treehouse.  They'd have to go easy if the boughs went a little beyond the border.  I'm thinking in some places their interacting with common land trees would give the place a natural look...